ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists has taken notice of a malicious campaign launched on social media against some top journalists of the country.

The union’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) adopted a resolution at its meeting on Saturday, which urged the government to take action against those responsible for the “life-threatening campaign”. It called upon the government, state institutions and judiciary to take immediate and urgent notice of the campaign, which has been launched on the basis of religious hatred.

Under the campaign, concocted and fabricated allegations have been posted online that have termed some journalists “foreign agents”, posing a direct threat to their lives and that of their families.

The FEC demanded that the government to direct the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cyber wing and other top agencies to investigate and arrest those who had launched the campaign in the name of countering hybrid war, just to gag and control the media and put working journalists and media workers under pressure.

The FEC expressed the resolve to fight for the rights of journalists and safeguard the community and their families and said that it would knock at every door for the purpose.

It also expressed concern over threats to journalists and top TV anchors by using dirty tricks on social media. It contended that a ‘hybrid war’ could only be countered through free media not through fake accounts on social media.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2019